Teaching Sustainability with Goats in Grenada: Informal Education and the Formal Classroom
Description
Although sustainability as a concept and a science has been around for quite some time, it has only recently come into the common vernacular of citizens around the world. While there are a number of arguments that have been and can be made about the role of sustainability in developing countries, it can be said with certainty that sustainability education, especially at the pre-university level, is commonly neglected even in countries that have sustainability initiatives elsewhere in their systems. Education is an important part of development in any country, and sustainability education is critical to raising generations who are more aware of the connections in the world around them. Informal education, or education that takes place outside of a formal classroom, can provide an especially important platform for sustainability ideas. These factors take on unique characteristics within the environment of a small island with noble sustainability goals but limited resources and an economy that includes a significant domestic goat population. After providing basic background on sustainability and the nature of the educational process within the environment of the small island-nation of Grenada, I discuss the importance of informal education and follow my path with a local non-profit in Grenada leading to the development of a locally-relevant sustainability curriculum for implementation in a K-6 school.
Date Created
The date the item was original created (prior to any relationship with the ASU Digital Repositories.)
2015-05
Agent
- Author (aut): Melkonoff, Natalie Anne
- Thesis director: Eder, James
- Committee member: BurnSilver, Shauna
- Contributor (ctb): Barrett, The Honors College
- Contributor (ctb): School of International Letters and Cultures
- Contributor (ctb): School of Sustainability
- Contributor (ctb): School of Life Sciences